AOC sides with Bernie-backed progressive in Senate primary clash with Schumer establishment

By Fox News · Fox News

Progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is taking sides in a high-profile Democratic Senate primary that's seen as the next major showdown between the far left and the party establishment. Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in battleground Michigan , in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. El-Sayed, who if elected would make history as the nation's first Muslim senator, has long been backed by another progressive champion, Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. He is facing off with two more moderate candidates, including centrist Rep. Haley Stevens, who is tacitly supported by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y. MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALISTS LOOK TO TAKE NEW YORK PLAYBOOK NATIONWIDE AFTER PRIMARY VICTORIES Schumer and the party establishment view Stevens as more electable than El-Sayed, who has sparked controversy with his past comments, in a race that Democrats view as crucial as they aim to win back the Senate majority from the Republicans in this year's midterm elections. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB But Ocasio-Cortez, the four-term firebrand from New York City best known by her initialism AOC, disagreed. "Despite our ideological differences and whatever disagreements there are in the party, every single one of us sees this moment as existential," she said in a New York Times interview, where she announced the endorsement. "And I think many people are willing to put aside differences in order to give us the best chance at winning. And I think that Abdul gives us that right now." The endorsement by Ocasio-Cortez, her first this cycle in a contested Democratic Senate primary, could further energize far-left progressive activists who are already heavily supporting El-Sayed. And it will likely be problematic for establishment leaders, who worry El-Sayed as the party's nominee would jeopardize the Democrat-controlled Senate seat by pushing the party too far to the left in a state that Preside…